1 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,000 To have your Bible go and make your way to Genesis chapter 19. 2 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,160 Genesis chapter 19, we're going to be picking up in our series 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,120 answering God's call in verse 30. 4 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,360 Big thanks to Jason who filled in and preached for us on 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,920 graduation Sunday, couple Sundays back and special Sunday 6 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,440 with our graduates. And then big thanks to Steven 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,680 who preached for me last week and preached Genesis 20. 8 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,520 You know, he told you that I'd be backtracking a little bit for 9 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,280 chapter 19. I just felt like it had been 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,600 cruel and unusual punishment to ask him to preach this text that 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,840 I'm about to preach. So I'll let him have one a 12 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,200 little bit easier, I think. But yeah, praise God. 13 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:50,640 You know, one of the things that we're committed to is the word 14 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,880 of God. And, and, and sometimes quite 15 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,040 honestly, you turn to places in the word of God and you look at 16 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,880 God and you're like, do what you know God, You sure that was the 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,400 the best thing to include there? But what I love about the Bible 18 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:03,400 is it just doesn't pull any punches. 19 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,720 But the word of God just tells it to you straight. 20 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,320 The the word of God, all of it is practical and applicable. 21 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,400 Even when sometimes we read it, we're not really sure how to 22 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:12,760 apply that, what to think of that. 23 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,000 But the Bible says all the things that were written even in 24 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,680 former days were written for our, your and my instruction. 25 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,240 That all of scriptures inspired by God, profitable for teaching, 26 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:24,680 for correction and training and reproof and righteousness, that 27 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,520 we may be equipped and complete, ready for every good work. 28 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,920 So here we go. One of my favorite books growing 29 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,960 up was The Call of the Wild. Yeah, There's a story about a 30 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,040 dog by the name of Buck. And Buck has a great owner. 31 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:42,760 The problem is that he gets stolen. 32 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,240 He's sold to work as a sled dog and treated cruelly and has to 33 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,200 fight for his life, learning the law of the tooth and Fang and 34 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:51,800 the struggle and fight to survive. 35 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,760 And he's worked almost to death. And then eventually he comes 36 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:57,960 under the ownership of a man by the name of John Thornton. 37 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,840 But the problem is John. He develops a deep devotion to 38 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,320 John, but John is killed. And then eventually the story, 39 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,000 according to the title, is that, but here's the call of the wild, 40 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,080 if you will, in returns to be the leader of the Wolfpack. 41 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,920 And of course, in the book, the call of the wild is seen as a 42 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:18,840 positive thing, as the the wild is seen as a place of the dog's 43 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,040 natural identity and nature, if you will, and freedom and 44 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,280 happiness. But I want to flip that for the 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,400 purposes of our message this morning and say that the wild, 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000 spiritually speaking, we're going to give a different 47 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,360 definition to like this. It's the place, the place of 48 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,360 lawlessness, the place of lostness, the place of death and 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,240 destruction. And in that sense, that call of 50 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,520 the wild, if you will, if you think about it that way, the 51 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:50,280 devil is constantly whispering in your ears and mine the call 52 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:55,240 of the wild, the call of the place of lawlessness and 53 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,160 lostness and rebellion and death and destruction. 54 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,480 Y'all Lot. His story is the story of a man 55 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:06,840 who heeded the call of the wild. And more importantly, really not 56 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,200 more importantly, but more specifically, I should say, a 57 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,960 man who heeded the call of what we thought of maybe in the wild, 58 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,240 but really ultimate was the call of The Cave. 59 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,200 So we're just going to read starting first with just verse 60 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,720 30. Listen to this now. 61 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:28,000 Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two 62 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:34,200 daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar, so we lived in a 63 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:41,320 cave with his two daughters. Now remember, God had given both 64 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:46,320 Abraham and Lot such physical prosperity that at the growth of 65 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,920 their flocks and herds and all their possessions, these two men 66 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,600 were no longer able to live directly among each other for 67 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,680 the fighting that happened among their their staff and their 68 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:58,800 family and their flocks and their herds. 69 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,360 And so Abram gives Lot first choice of where to relocate. 70 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,920 If you remember in this story. And the issue is, is that Lot 71 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,160 chooses the location of his life based on what looked good in the 72 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,640 eyes of the world. He looked around him and found 73 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,680 the place that he thought would be most economically prosperous. 74 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,240 He looked around and thought, this is where we could flourish. 75 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,160 This is where we could have the good life. 76 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:23,880 This is where we could get what we want. 77 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,400 This is where things look like that. 78 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,720 The world would say the things we ought to have. 79 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:34,000 The problem was what looked good on the outside from an earthly 80 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,640 standpoint was rotten to the core on the inside from a 81 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,040 heavenly stamp, and what looked good physically was actually 82 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,960 going to be bankrupt spiritually. 83 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:48,600 Come to find out, So Lot who sought to be a worldly man winds 84 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,440 up a caveman in verse 30 of chapter 19. 85 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,360 He thought to be a successful worldly man, a successful man in 86 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,040 the eyes of the world, but he ends up a caveman. 87 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,160 Now, of course, not every person that seeks to be successful in 88 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,400 the eyes of the world ends up living in a cave. 89 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,880 All right. But Lot's story is a case in 90 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,440 point of whether it's in this life or the next, of what 91 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,920 happens to a person who loves the world and seeks to gain the 92 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,840 world at the price or to the detriment of their soul. 93 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,840 Let me be more clear with the words of Jesus. 94 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:32,480 He says this Mark chapter 8, verse 34 through 37 and calling 95 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,960 the crowd to him with his disciples, He said to them, if 96 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:40,000 anyone would come after me, Let me just be clear, Jesus saying 97 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,400 if anyone would follow me, if anyone would identify himself or 98 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:48,360 herself with me, if anyone would call themselves a Christian, let 99 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,840 him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 100 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,720 Translation. Let that person say no to them 101 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,920 as their boss, their authority and their way and let them like 102 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,280 I said, not my way, but thy will, thy will be done. 103 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,560 Let that person live like that every day of their life, dying 104 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,520 to their way, their wants, their dreams, their desires, saying 105 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,960 yes to mine, take up his cross and follow me for whoever would 106 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:17,360 save his life, try to get life themselves forever would save 107 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,280 his life. We'll lose it, but whoever loses 108 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,320 his life for my sake in the gospel, whoever lays down his 109 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:28,400 life and surrender in submission to me and my gospel, will save 110 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,560 it. For what does it profit a man to 111 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,680 gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 112 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,240 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 113 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:46,880 Lot ends up living a wasted life y'all, because he's chosen to 114 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:51,560 love the world. Now remember what the angels had 115 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,120 instructed Lot to do? Remember the angels had come 116 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,760 down and stopped by Abraham and paid him a visit before they got 117 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,280 to Sodom and Gomorrah in order to inspect the sin of the cities 118 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:06,560 and see if they truly got a failing grade before the 119 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:08,520 destruction and wrath of God fell. 120 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,880 They stopped by, they talked to Abraham, and before they got to 121 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,080 Lot, and when they got to Lot, they gave Lot the instructions 122 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:20,520 to flee before the disaster overtook him, but Lot refused. 123 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:24,680 In verse 19, he gives this reason lest disaster overtake me 124 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:26,320 and I die. He's afraid. 125 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,760 So Lot ends up asking the angels for a favor. 126 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,160 Hey, I don't want to run to the hills. 127 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,560 Maybe he didn't want to live in the country after being a city 128 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:33,800 boy for so long. I don't know. 129 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,280 But he says, let me stop in this little little town, small town 130 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,720 of Zoar, which by the way, was also still in the Jordan Valley, 131 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,440 which also is in the area destined for destruction. 132 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,240 But according to the favor, he asked the angels to spare him. 133 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,400 They spared that place and there he went. 134 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,560 But the Bible says he doesn't stay there long. 135 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:51,840 Why? It doesn't tell us. 136 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:53,800 We could probably read between the lines. 137 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,240 It could be that the residents of Zoar were unfriendly. 138 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,640 Maybe to Lot, maybe you like look what what happened there. 139 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:02,280 We don't want coming here. Don't come here. 140 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,160 Or maybe Lot got there and realized, Oh my goodness, the 141 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,240 lifestyle and living I see here is really close to what I saw 142 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,000 there. Surely it's not long before what 143 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,120 happened there happens here. I better get to the heels. 144 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:13,600 Like the Angel said, we don't know. 145 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:19,320 But either way, Lot ends up in The Cave, having fled from Zoar. 146 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,320 What we do know is this. In The Cave, Lot is very much 147 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,280 what you might call a shell of a man. 148 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,360 What do you mean Kyle? He's homeless, He's spouseless, 149 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,679 having lost his wife, friendless, scared to death, 150 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,280 living in OK, first thing I want you to write down if you're 151 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:46,600 taking notes, is this loving the world is a wreck waiting to 152 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:49,160 happen, loving the world. Now, I don't buy that. 153 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:50,520 I don't mean the people of the world. 154 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,720 I mean the first John chapter 2 verse 15 do not love the world, 155 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:55,400 the things in the world, because the things of the world are not 156 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,560 the things that the father kind of love the world like the lust 157 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:00,720 of the eyes, lust of the flesh and sinful desires of life, like 158 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,080 the things of the world that cause and create the curse of 159 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,000 sin that flows all through it. That's what I'm talking about, 160 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,360 not loving the world. Loving the world is a wreck 161 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,920 waiting to happen. And part of the deceptiveness of 162 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,720 loving the world, y'all, is that the looming disaster that comes 163 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,440 when we love the world does not always appear immediate or close 164 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:23,360 by. It doesn't seem like it's that 165 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,800 dangerous to us so often of loving the world. 166 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,080 It seems like maybe like lot like I got away with it or he 167 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,400 did it for so long. But one day disaster, disaster 168 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,920 did come. Loving the world for a follower 169 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:40,720 of Christ is not dissimilar from texting and driving, right? 170 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,880 Because if we were to really be honest this morning, most of us 171 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,760 in the room are guilty of it, right? 172 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,200 But here's the deal. Why do we continue to do it? 173 00:09:54,880 --> 00:10:00,120 Because we've done it thus far with no what with no 174 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,040 consequences. So it hadn't hurt anybody, 175 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:07,160 doesn't appear dangerous. We've kind of gotten comfortable 176 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:08,920 with it. We think we've gotten good at 177 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,880 it, so we still do it and it doesn't appear deadly to us. 178 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,880 And yet the difference is 2 seconds too long on a text 179 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,720 message can be the difference between what life And when all 180 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,200 the sudden the lifestyle you got comfortable with it did not 181 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,720 appear dangerous and two seconds too long and all the 182 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,880 consequences thereof come crashing down upon you. 183 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,480 This is what it's like for a Christian to choose to love the 184 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,080 world. You might be fine, you might 185 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,520 seem to not hurt anybody, might seem not to be doing any damage 186 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,160 when all the sudden boom, what you didn't expect all of a 187 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,440 sudden comes crashing down. And it's too what it's too. 188 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,560 It's too late. Loving the world often works the 189 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:47,280 exact same way. Now I want you to listen to the 190 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,160 rest of the text. I assure you were gonna keep it 191 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:51,680 as PG as possible. Are you ready? 192 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,000 Here we go. And the first born said to the 193 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 younger, Our father is old, there's not a man on earth. 194 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,040 I want you to listen to that, not a man on earth to come into 195 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:02,520 us after the manner of all the earth. 196 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,640 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we and we will 197 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,800 lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our 198 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,000 father. So they made their father drink 199 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,080 wine that night. And the first born went in and 200 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,920 lay with her father. He did not know when she lay 201 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,280 down or when she arose. The next day the first born said 202 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,120 to the younger, Behold, I lay last night with my father, let 203 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,360 us make him drink wine tonight also. 204 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:29,120 Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring 205 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,800 from our father. So they made their father drink 206 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,080 wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay 207 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,840 with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she 208 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,240 arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot 209 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,360 became pregnant by their father. The first born bore a son and 210 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,640 called his name Moab. He is the father to the Moabites 211 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,200 to this day. The younger also bore a son and 212 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,200 called his name Ben AMI and he is the father of the Ammonites 213 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,800 to this day. There's a reason why this text 214 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,040 is not in the kids Sunday school curriculum. 215 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,040 It's not going to be in the VBS lessons. 216 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,080 It's not on the Hallmark Channel like Steven said it might be, 217 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:09,440 and it's certainly not in your family devotional at home. 218 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,040 Just when you thought Lot had hit rock bottom, the bottom 219 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,280 falls out about 40 more floors. And I told you, the Bible 220 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,800 doesn't pull any punches. It tells you to you straight. 221 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,480 There's a commentator of old named Donald Barnhouse who said 222 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,360 this. I've modernized it a bit, but I 223 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,640 agree with him. He says such scenes in the Bible 224 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:34,720 may make us uncomfortable, but it is far better for us and our 225 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:39,920 children to learn the facts of life from the Word of God where 226 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:44,600 sin is condemned, than from The Dirty words written on the walls 227 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:49,120 of the bathroom stalls or from lewd stories in the halls or on 228 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,480 the playground. And I think he's right. 229 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,520 Love for the world has landed Lot in a cave. 230 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,680 And in this cave, two things are true of Lot right now. 231 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,600 Number one, he's afraid and #2 he's isolated #1 he's afraid and 232 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,640 #2 he's isolated. Ladies and gentlemen, fear and 233 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,840 isolation are a deadly combination. 234 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,840 Fear and isolation both lead to spiritual ruin. 235 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,920 The devil did not lead his temptation strategy in Lot's 236 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,240 life with either 1 He started with something much more subtle, 237 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:29,040 much more benign, if you will. He started with the 238 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,240 attractiveness of the world. That was his bait. 239 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,560 But buried beneath the bait was the hook of fear and isolation. 240 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,920 The call of the wild was really a call to The Cave, if you will 241 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,560 #2 fear and isolation, if you're taking notes, is the devil's 242 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,040 combination. Fear and isolation is the 243 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:53,600 devil's combination for him to attempt to do his work in our 244 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,040 lives. You might even call it his 245 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,400 workshop. If the devil can get you in a 246 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,120 place of fear and isolation. You know those movies where the 247 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,760 you know that the scene comes when maybe the person's been 248 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,960 captured and they pull out and unroll all their tools to get 249 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:07,440 out of them what they want to get out of them? 250 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,400 This is if, if, if the enemy can get you in a place of fear and 251 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,560 isolation. He's got all his tools he can 252 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:17,520 unravel to do his his worst work in our lives. 253 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:22,800 If he can get you in a place of fear and isolation, y'all. 254 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:27,440 This is why our discipleship strategy here at CFBC that we 255 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:31,680 even kind of refocused as we walk through that process from 256 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:35,320 gather, grow, give and go. Why? 257 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,840 Why do we have that? That sounds cute, that sounds 258 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,840 cliche, even sounds like it rolls off the tongue in a nice 259 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:42,840 thing with an acronym. But what in the world is that? 260 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,720 What that is, is a strategy to fight back against the devil's 261 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,600 workshop in our lives. If you've walked into the room, 262 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,240 you've taken the first step of gathering with the body to 263 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,440 worship, praise God. But the next step that we call 264 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,160 you into and we put out is not just to gather, but to grow. 265 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,480 Where? In a small group. 266 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,640 Why? Because there you dodge fear and 267 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:05,880 isolation. There you can be surrounded by 268 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,600 others to keep you courageous in the good fight of faith. 269 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,280 And there you can be be protected from being alone and 270 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,280 isolated because you know what there's sin in in your life and 271 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,880 mind that grows and can keep growing when there's not others 272 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,360 close enough around us to help keep us accountable and allow us 273 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,960 to see our blind spots. And so this is one of the 274 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,440 reasons why we don't just need to gather, but to grow. 275 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,360 Why? To combat the fear and isolation 276 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,240 that can creep into our lives even as Christ's followers and 277 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,080 obviously giving sacrificially of our lives and going on 278 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,480 mission to fulfill what Christ has commanded us to do. 279 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,680 Let me tell you though, let me let me be real honest, here are 280 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,840 the primary obstacles to you getting into that spot of 281 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:47,160 growing in a small group. If you're not there, if you're 282 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,600 not there consistently, I can tell you probably the three 283 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,000 reasons if not one or all three are going on in your life, 284 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,200 Number one, you might be lazy. Nobody said I'm into that. 285 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,800 That's OK. But here's the deal. 286 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,320 You either just won't get up on time or you won't stay long 287 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,960 enough. You just won't give two hours. 288 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,560 It's just lazy. The second reason might be 289 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:09,360 because you're careless or prideful. 290 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,800 In other words, either way, those two things don't sound the 291 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,040 same, but either way ends in the same result. 292 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:15,480 You just think you don't need it. 293 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,760 Being careless and being prideful, you don't think it, 294 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:20,880 You don't. You're beyond that. 295 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,360 You don't think you need it. The third one is probably the 296 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,360 most common, and it's actually working against you. 297 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,880 But it's fear. It's fear of walking into a new 298 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,240 room. It's fear of connecting with new 299 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,880 people. It's fear of being known. 300 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,200 You know, let's be honest. It's fear of what if they asked 301 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:38,440 me to turn to a book in the Bible? 302 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,640 I don't know where it is. It's fear of maybe being asked 303 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:43,760 to pray out loud when you don't not comfortable doing that. 304 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,240 It's fear maybe of being asked a question you feel like you may 305 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:47,600 not know the and you know what all that is? 306 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,120 That's a fear that you may be exposed, which is like, who 307 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,080 cares what those people think anyway, by the way? 308 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:57,960 But we, we know what that fear is like, right? 309 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,520 And guess what? The problem is that fear is not 310 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,120 helping you. That fear is actually 311 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,560 reinforcing what the devil wants in your life, keeping you afraid 312 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,960 and keeping you isolated. The worst thing that could 313 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,000 happen to you is not to walk into a Sunday school classroom 314 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,280 and not be able to find a book in the Bible they ask you to 315 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,200 turn to. The worst thing the devil wants 316 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:16,640 for you is to stay isolated and afraid. 317 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:19,440 That's the worst thing that can happen to you. 318 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:23,640 So your fear he uses to actually reinforce what he wants to 319 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,640 happen in your life. You don't have to live in a cave 320 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,960 physically to live in a cave spiritually. 321 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:34,360 You follow me, gather, grow, give and go is an anti fear and 322 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,480 isolation effort. Rhythms of life. 323 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,920 Ladies and gentlemen, let me say this, you do not land in a cave 324 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:47,120 overnight, OK? Another way I want to put it is 325 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:50,720 you can't wreck a train unless you first build it. 326 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:58,600 So I want to walk through the train cars that Lot built before 327 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,880 they wrecked you. Follow me. 328 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:05,320 All right, here we go. Train car wreck #1 Lot ignored 329 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:10,920 the call of God on his life. Lot ignored the call of God on 330 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,120 his life. Now, don't you remember when Lot 331 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:15,760 and Abraham set out leaving house, home, country and 332 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,880 kindred? Don't you know Lot knew exactly 333 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,320 what he was joining up for and signing up for. 334 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,000 Abraham had heard the call of God to leave, that God had a 335 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,240 plan for his life. And Lot said, sign me up. 336 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:27,360 Or Abraham said, hey, you want to join. 337 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,240 Either way, we think that might not have been a good decision. 338 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,320 But whatever it was, Lot knew what he was getting himself 339 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,640 into. And yet there came a time when 340 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,240 physical prosperity caused an issue they could have found a 341 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,720 way to work through. But Lot found an opportunity to 342 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,160 keep pursuing the things of the world, and he stepped away from 343 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,240 where he knew God was working, that he knew the call of God 344 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,640 was, and he went off and struck off on his own. 345 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,640 Lot did not move to Sodom because God called him there. 346 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,040 Lot went to Sodom because he called himself there. 347 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:02,560 Lot ignored the call of God. This is train car wreck #1 train 348 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:07,600 car wreck #2 Lot married a product of the culture instead 349 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:12,160 of Christ. I may be wrong when I get to 350 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,600 heaven, but either way this principle is true. 351 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:21,040 OK, but I think it's safe to say based on the Bible silence that 352 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:26,120 Lot probably got his spouse from Sodom and her actions, in light 353 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:31,240 of what they experienced kind of justify that assumption. 354 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:37,120 If that's the case, then when Lot was living by ignoring the 355 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,520 call of God, Lot ended up finding someone to do life with. 356 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,680 It was also ignoring the call of God. 357 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,240 And two people ignoring the call of God is worse than one person 358 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,600 ignoring the call of God. You follow me in New Testament 359 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,360 terms. I think it might be safe to say 360 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:58,840 that Lot married a lost person. I think it's probably safe to 361 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,000 say that Lot did what the New Testament said don't do. 362 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:04,640 Lot got unequally yoked. Lot joined. 363 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,040 Lot joined his life to someone who didn't know God and didn't 364 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,280 worship God. That's train wreck car #2 365 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,760 listen, there's adults in the room, would tell young people in 366 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:14,840 the room, boys and girls that are in the room that are not yet 367 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,160 married. No matter what age you are, I 368 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,400 plead with you to not marry somebody that's not running hard 369 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,600 after Jesus. You've got to hit your life to 370 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,720 someone who will run after the Kingdom of God with you, that 371 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,240 knows God and worships God and has made that commitment to 372 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,960 answer the call of God because you will not be able to fully 373 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:35,120 answer the call of God in your life. 374 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,240 Hitching your wagon to someone who's not going to help you do 375 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:43,920 that as well #3 train wreck, car #3 is Lot failed to love and 376 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:50,640 protect his daughters. Do you remember when the angels 377 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:56,280 had come to inspect the sin of the city and Lot brought them 378 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,840 into his home? Do you remember how the story 379 00:20:58,840 --> 00:20:59,800 went? What happened next? 380 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,640 When nightfall came? The Bible says every man to the 381 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:08,280 last man gathered at the door, demanding that those two 382 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,600 visitors be put outside so they could fulfill their lust to the 383 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:19,400 last man. Lot's solution to that was less 384 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,640 than godly. Lot's solution because he wanted 385 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,600 to save face in the prospect of offering hospitality socially 386 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,120 and among his friends and environment and neighbors. 387 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:33,200 He wanted to save face. And he does something quite 388 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,680 unimaginable. He offers these men outside his 389 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:43,240 two daughters to have their way with them that day. 390 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:50,200 Lot taught his daughters the lie that they their purity, their 391 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,880 dignity, their value, and that their very lives were cheap. 392 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:02,280 They were taught that by their father that day in Sodom, that 393 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,960 they were expendable, that God's plan for their lives was not His 394 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,640 greatest priority, that they could be jeopardized for their 395 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,520 father to save face when confronting his friends. 396 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,720 In other words, Lot's daughters listen to me closely. 397 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,360 They did not believe the lie that they were cheap in The 398 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,520 Cave. They already learned that from 399 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:30,040 their father in their hometown. Train car wreck #3 is Lot failed 400 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,320 to love and protect his daughters. 401 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:39,520 Train wreck car #4 is Lot had a problem with alcohol. 402 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:43,960 Lots daughters. Y'all think about it with me 403 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,240 like this. Lots daughters don't come up 404 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,040 with a solution out of thin air that they just think might work, 405 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,440 that they've never seen their father participate in. 406 00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:59,640 They they operate on what's obvious. 407 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,200 This is a lifestyle habit our father at least now has gotten 408 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:05,760 into. This will work. 409 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,120 We see him doing this every day. All we got to do is get him to 410 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:12,280 do it to an extreme and guess what our plan will work. 411 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:17,480 No one ends up in a cave overnight. 412 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,080 Lots problem with alcohol was the gate that allowed disaster 413 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:29,960 to walk in as an invited guest. This problem, no one wrecks a 414 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,720 car they don't first build. Why do Lot's daughters do what 415 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,240 they do? Well, you have to remember 416 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,960 during this day and time that for a woman, a married woman, 417 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:42,200 that childbearing was seen in this culture as the highest 418 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,280 value that woman could participate in bearing children 419 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,800 would have given her the greatest fulfilment and the 420 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,040 greatest purpose or really identity and status in the 421 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,640 culture. And So what they do is if it's 422 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,920 interesting, you look back in the text and the 2 girls say 423 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,280 there's not a man left on the you know what they say literally 424 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:06,760 the Bible says what the earth that wasn't true. 2 cities had 425 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,840 been wiped out, but there was still men on the earth. 426 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,920 All right, but that's exactly what we do before we act a fool, 427 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,720 you know what we do? We exaggerate the truth in order 428 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:17,840 to justify the lie we want to believe. 429 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,640 That's what we do. We exaggerate the truth so we 430 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,320 can justify whatever lies we're about to act on in our lives. 431 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,600 So this is what they do. They're under despair and 432 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,800 desperation, which can cause us to do crazy, dangerous things. 433 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,040 They hatch a plan to get pregnant by their father to 434 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:36,360 getting drunk. You know the rest. 435 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:40,080 I'd be remiss if I did not make at least a couple statements 436 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,720 right here, but not chase rabbit holes. 437 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,400 But listen to me. So many train wrecks in life are 438 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,240 closely connected to the abuse of alcohol. 439 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:53,800 So many #2 drunkenness and sexual immorality are very close 440 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,880 friends. Drunkenness and immorality know 441 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,280 each other very, very well. One goes where the other goes 442 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,960 and and watch this. This is most startling, 443 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:09,800 ironically. How ironic is it that Lot ends 444 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,360 up doing with his own daughters what he had suggested the men of 445 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,080 Sodom do with them in his own drunkenness? 446 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,400 That's what that's what those type decisions will lead you to 447 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,920 do. The girls get pregnant. 448 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:30,080 Their sons are the origin of two peoples, the Moabites and #2 the 449 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:31,400 Ammonites. I don't have time to tell you 450 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,640 the trouble. Those two groups of people calls 451 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,640 for the Israelites, but I can just tell you, thousands will 452 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,720 die among the Israelites because of the trouble the Moabites and 453 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,680 Ammonites cause the Israelites. And yet, let me be clear, the 454 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,240 problem with the Moabites and Ammonites wasn't their DNA. 455 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,240 It wasn't their origin, it wasn't their ethnicity. 456 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,160 It was their lack of faith in following God. 457 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,160 In fact, let me just tell you how merciful, how gracious, how 458 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,480 compassionate God is. And if you're wondering if your 459 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,680 life or you come from a mess, it doesn't get messier than this 460 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:02,120 mess. Amen. 461 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:04,760 Your situation is not worse than that. 462 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:06,240 Your origin is not worse than that. 463 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,440 All right, but here's the grace of God, right? 464 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,400 Guess who is going to marry a man by the name of Boaz? 465 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,880 And guess who's going to be the great grandmother of King David, 466 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,720 from whom the king of Kings, the Christ, is going to be born? 467 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,080 Guess who? What's her name? 468 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:26,280 And she's a what? Praise God, our origin does not 469 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,400 determine our value, but our faith in the Creator, the One 470 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:32,960 who made us and loves us. That determines not only our 471 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,920 value, but our eternal destiny. Listen, it doesn't matter where 472 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,760 you come from or how you came or where you were conceived. 473 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,080 That has no bearing on God's love for you, your value in the 474 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,200 eyes of your Creator. You've been fearfully and 475 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,240 wonderfully made, and nothing can change that. 476 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,800 No earthly circumstance can change your heavenly value to 477 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,120 your heavenly Father. So you just sometimes need to 478 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,160 not listen to the devil and what he wants to say, or the world's 479 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:02,720 way of defining what's valuable and what's not #3 if you're 480 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,440 taking notes, is this. Sin that is not abandoned 481 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,640 becomes a downward spiral. We see that in the train that 482 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,760 lot built. Sin that is not abandoned 483 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,720 becomes a downward spiral. You know most Christians do not 484 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,880 intend to end up looking or living anything like Sodom and 485 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,000 Gomorrah. And yet the issue is lots of 486 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,320 Christians try to follow God while living as close as they 487 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,280 possibly can to the world. You know what I'm talking about? 488 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,280 Trying to love God, but also trying to love the world. 489 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,800 They end up identifying with the world as much as they do the 490 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,600 people of God. The lesson from Lot among many, 491 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,920 but one of them is you got to make up your mind, right? 492 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,400 The most miserable people are the half committed to Christ. 493 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,560 It's been said that he who tries to walk down both sides of the 494 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,680 road splits his pants. There's a lot of Christians 495 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,400 walking around with a split in their pants. 496 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,000 No wonder they're miserable. You can't do it. 497 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:08,120 Another lesson from Lot is you and I do not drift into 498 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,080 godliness. You don't wake up one day and 499 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,200 find yourself more godly. You don't do life and just wind 500 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:19,400 up in a more sanctified spot. This doesn't happen. 501 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:23,120 The deal is, if you're not fighting the current of the 502 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:26,880 world, the call of the wild in your life, then you're drifting. 503 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:31,800 Last week kids and I and Lauren were at the beach, had a great 504 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,400 time and we're able to relax and I'm sitting in the sand with my 505 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,800 chair and got a fishing rod and I've got one eye on the tip of 506 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,960 that fishing rod and the other eye on my 3 kids. 507 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,120 About every 3 minutes either Lauren or I would have to do 508 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:50,720 something because of the tide and its effect on my kids 509 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,000 because they'd go out in the water right in front of me. 510 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,720 But guess where they'd end up about 3 minutes later? 511 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,680 Like 50 yards that way. I mean, I even had to throw my 512 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,880 fish in like 50 yards this way. So we would end up right. 513 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,160 And So what I would do is I'd get out of my chair and I would 514 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:12,960 call to them or Lauren would call their name, instructing 515 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:17,200 them to exit the tide, exit the pool and the current that they 516 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:18,920 were oblivious to. They're just having fun. 517 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,920 They're just living life. They're riding waves and 518 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:23,760 fighting and snorkeling and all the things, right? 519 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,920 They're not even thinking about the pull of the world. 520 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:27,920 This is the same thing that happens to us in life. 521 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,680 We're not even thinking about, we're just living life. 522 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,280 We're doing what we think we ought to do. 523 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,800 But we if we're not actively fighting the current, guess 524 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,280 what? You look up one day, you don't 525 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,320 even know where you are. You realize you're 100 yards 526 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:39,920 down the beach, you've lost sight of where you started and 527 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,880 don't even know how you got there because you just weren't 528 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,320 fighting the riptide. The follower of Christ, is an 529 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:50,440 intentional life of fighting against the call of the wild. 530 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,280 Following Jesus, by definition, is to go against the current. 531 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,160 Let me give you a definition of drifting because you might not 532 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,000 think it's defined this way. You're ready. 533 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,000 Drifting is this. It's not actively seeking to 534 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,920 know God and His Word. Drifting is not rejecting 535 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:11,000 Christ. Drifting is not actively seeking 536 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,000 wickedness. Drifting is not trying to do 537 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,800 things the opposite of God's way. 538 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,720 Drifting can just go like this. It's not. 539 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,240 It's just when you instead of take your free time or the time 540 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,040 you have and you give it to every other thing in your life 541 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,560 instead of do your spiritual growth, maybe how much do we 542 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,120 turn to Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram or Netflix or YouTube 543 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,920 or video games or practically anything else other than 544 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:38,800 prioritizing time to know God in his word? 545 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,680 What drifting sounds like is this. 546 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:42,560 It's when you just don't do a quiet time. 547 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,600 It's when you don't sign up for discipleship opportunities. 548 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:47,960 It's when you just don't participate in mission 549 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,240 opportunities. And one day you look up and 550 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:51,440 you're like, man, I've just been living life. 551 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,160 I haven't tried to make any wrong choices, but you're 500 552 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,160 yards down the beach and don't know your way back. 553 00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,880 How did I get there? The world's pulling, the world's 554 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,800 calling, and you drift if you don't fight. 555 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:06,440 Why do we say gather, grow, give and go? 556 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,360 Because it's an anti drift plan. But by the way, if these things 557 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,600 aren't actively happening, if you're not saying, listen, I'm 558 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:14,840 going to pull myself out of the world, out of my home, out of 559 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:17,960 where I live, out of my job to be here on Sunday to worship, 560 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,800 guess what you're going to do? If you don't say I'm willing to 561 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,480 be in a small group, held accountable, my blind spot scene 562 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,000 prayers over me, my prayers for people walking in community, 563 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,800 guess what you're going to do? If you don't choose to give of 564 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,400 yourself sacrificially, guess what you're going to do if you 565 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,760 don't choose to go and live on mission, guess what you're going 566 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,440 to do? You don't have to reject the 567 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:38,800 Bible. You don't have to claim to not 568 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:42,360 follow Christ to drift. It's just going to happen unless 569 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,440 you're actively fighting. Let me land on some things for 570 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:47,760 parents. Y'all really try to. 571 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,400 I try to make some things practical for parents along the 572 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,120 way. And if this text is anything, it 573 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:58,720 is a failure to parent well. So let me just talk to parents. 574 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,720 I don't have time to go into a lot of these things. 575 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,280 Sometimes I think we think Christian parenting is like this 576 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,760 mysterious higher level. Got to have a PhD to do well. 577 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,640 It's just simple stuff. It's just very simple stuff. 578 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,040 But listen to this, fathers. By the way, if none of this 579 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,400 makes sense or you want to know more, reach out to me. 580 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,440 I'm glad to have a conversation. Fathers, we must teach our 581 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:23,640 daughters how men should treat them, because if you don't teach 582 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,120 them, they're going to learn from the world. 583 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,800 Fathers, you got to teach your sons how to treat women, because 584 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:35,560 if you don't teach them, they're going to learn from the world #2 585 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,920 Parents must never underestimate the impact of the world upon our 586 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:45,520 children. Lot could take his daughters out 587 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:50,680 of Sodom, but the deal was Lot did not do what it took to keep 588 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:55,480 Sodom out of his daughters. Now we can't control our kids. 589 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,240 We don't make decisions for our kids, but God has called us to 590 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,360 do by his instructions, by the Spirit, what is we are 591 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:05,360 responsible to do to serve our kids, to best position them to 592 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:09,200 fight the call of the wild and of the world in their lives, 593 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,400 right. And so here it is the story of 594 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,720 Lot and his family show us that all our decisions are 595 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,480 significant. Let me parents consider how 596 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,280 these decisions, all of them and more that I could name, impact 597 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,360 your kids. Where we live, who we hang out 598 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,000 with, whether we approve the things other people approve of 599 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,480 or not. How we respond to the wickedness 600 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,400 we witness in the world. What we do as a family and what 601 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,240 we don't do. What we watch and what we don't 602 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,160 watch and what we listen to. What we don't listen to. 603 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,880 What our personal priorities are, What we are are committed 604 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,640 to spiritually, what our non negotiables are and on and on. 605 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,080 Our kids are learning every moment of every day from 606 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:51,800 everything we do. And Lot did not do what he 607 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,760 needed to to protect them from Sodom getting inside of them. 608 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:01,800 Let me give you 6 basic Christian parenting things guys, 609 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,600 parents, if you'll do these things, listen, there's, there's 610 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:10,000 so much more to do honestly, but this right, these six things 611 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,000 alone, let me tell you would revolutionize your home if you 612 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,800 stuck to these number one is read God's word with your kids 613 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:23,120 in your home. Is the word of God heard in your 614 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,639 house? If it's only heard from me or 615 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:28,159 the pastor, your kids are going to think it's not important 616 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:30,080 enough to bring home. It's not important enough for me 617 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,560 to take to my new home. The word of God needs to be 618 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:39,080 heard #2 daily pray over your kids and let me just give you a 619 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,360 instruction on how to do that. When you do that, pray over them 620 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,560 out loud everyday. Find a way to pray out loud over 621 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:49,400 them, things God would desire for their life. 622 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,040 Pray things like this that the fruit of the Spirit would come 623 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,040 to full fruition in my kids life. 624 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,360 Lovejoy, peace, patience, and on down the line. 625 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,400 Pray that they'd have the courage to follow Christ even 626 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,480 when it's hard. Pray they'd have wisdom from 627 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,200 above. Pray for godly friends and 628 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,120 influences in their life. Pray they'd make godly 629 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:09,840 decisions. Pray they would have courage and 630 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:11,760 conviction. Pray that they would find and 631 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,040 hear God's call on their life. Pray the things out loud. 632 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,800 Let me tell you how. How impactful would it be if 633 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,480 they heard God's desires, prayed over them 360 five days a year 634 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:26,720 for 18 years, For 18 years. You talk about combating the 635 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,120 call of the wild. Come on, just pray over your 636 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:34,360 kids, the desires of God every day #3 talk to your kids about 637 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,400 the facts of life, and I mean the real facts of life. 638 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,240 I don't have to tell you, do I? You know what I'm talking about, 639 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:42,560 OK. And I'm telling you, if you 640 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:46,720 don't start with age, I'm not saying you got to get all the, I 641 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:48,680 don't know, you got to pull, you don't have to pull the biology 642 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,280 book out, all right. But with age appropriate 643 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:57,680 concepts, starting at least by the age of seven or eight, your 644 00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:00,360 kids need to be exposed to the age appropriate concepts and 645 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,800 levels of the facts of life. Listen, studies show that if 646 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:08,160 your kids hear about the facts of life from somebody else 647 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,480 before they hear from you, they believe what they hear from the 648 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,600 other people before and more than they believe you. 649 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:19,560 Who are they going to hear from first? 650 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:24,360 Who's going to interpret for them these things and where they 651 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,680 come from and how they're to be used and how they can be 652 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:33,040 distorted #4 Discipline your kids in love and in truth. 653 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,880 Your kids need your discipline. It provides safeguards for them. 654 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:43,920 Godly authority in their life #5 Keep your kids connected to the 655 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,920 body of Christ. If you teach your children that 656 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,640 sports are more important than Jesus, they'll believe you. 657 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,800 They'll believe you. If you teach your kids that 658 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,600 making money is more important than Jesus, they're going to 659 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,520 believe you. What are you teaching your kids, 660 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,160 Number six? Know that nothing can overcome 661 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,480 the power of your personal example. 662 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:08,960 I didn't say you had to be perfect. 663 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:12,200 I'm just saying you have to live it genuinely and say you're 664 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,560 sorry when you fail. Your kids need to learn how to 665 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,440 say I'm sorry and know how to how to react when you fail when 666 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:19,720 they fail, because they will too. 667 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,400 Everything we do as parents is shaping kid parents. 668 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:25,920 Christian parenting is not rocket science. 669 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:29,760 It is basic daily commitments in the ordinary things of life that 670 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,680 would change, that will change the lives of your kids. 671 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:39,320 No one wakes up one day and says I want to live in a cave. 672 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,240 That's not how life rolls. And we don't end up in a cave 673 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:48,360 overnight. And Satan knows not to advertise 674 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,440 the bait with The Cave. No one would bite it. 675 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:58,440 So he advertises it with the call of the world that leads to 676 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:02,080 a cave. The question this morning in 677 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,720 your notes there is are you hearing and heeding the upward 678 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:09,240 call of Christ or the downward call of The Cave? 679 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,600 Our invitation. I want you to picture like this 680 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,360 in our time of response. What if we were all out swimming 681 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:19,040 and enjoying life and riding the waves and doing all the fun 682 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,760 things? Our heavenly fathers watching 683 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:25,320 from the beach, We're not paying attention, paying attention to 684 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:28,600 the tide, the drift, the RIP current, and, and, and if you 685 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:30,800 were to look up and, and look to the beach, to where your 686 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,400 heavenly Father is looking and identifying where you are and 687 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,320 calling to you and calling your name, what would he ask you to 688 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,200 do? Would you be right there in 689 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,880 front of him, right in his will, fighting against the tide, 690 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,600 living for the glory of Christ, right there in the center of 691 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:47,440 God's will? Or have you moved down the beach 692 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,040 any distance? Are there any? 693 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,440 Do you need to walk? Do you need to follow His call 694 00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:56,560 to step out of the water and readjust and walk the beach in 695 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:00,040 repentance back to the place you know Christ would have you be? 696 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:05,000 Do you need to hear the call of God to be saved and trust Jesus 697 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,800 for the first time? What is it? 698 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,320 Where is it? How is it that God is calling 699 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:16,040 you to heed His call and calling you to fight the call of the 700 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:18,920 world? I don't know what that means for 701 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:20,840 you, but you can step out of your chair just like you'd want 702 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:25,520 to walk to the beach and say, God, I want to go the direction 703 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:27,920 that I need you to be back in the middle of your will. 704 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,400 Would you do that? Don't let anything stop you. 705 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:34,960 The call of the world leads to a cave. 706 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:39,880 The call of Christ leads to life and life abundantly. 707 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,680 Heavenly Father, I want to pray that we would respond to you 708 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:47,520 today full of faith, even from a place maybe where we've been 709 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,320 trapped in fear and isolation or disobedience, pulled by the 710 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:52,760 world. That we'd step out and say, 711 00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:56,720 Lord, take me back to the place of the center of your will. 712 00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,520 Make whatever adjustments in my life you need to make. 713 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,560 Have your way. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 714 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:05,360 Would you stand with me? Would you come as I wait for you 715 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,760 and encouragers waiting, or close you come as we sing and 716 00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,320 worship together this morning?